A woman has come forward on social media claiming that her former boyfriend, Javon Maurice Givann, was found hanging from a tree in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in what police have reportedly ruled a suicide.
In a widely shared Instagram video posted by @ydouneed2nomi, the woman identified Givann as her ex-boyfriend and said she was “sick to [her] stomach” after learning of his death. Her emotional post has since sparked renewed outrage over a series of similar cases involving young Black men found hanging from trees across the United States.
“My ex, Javon Maurice Givann, was found hanging in a tree in the woods in Albuquerque, New Mexico,” she said in the video. “They found another Black person hanging in the woods, hanging from a tree. And they’re saying he did it to himself. Are you kidding me?”
She went on to call out what she believes is a pattern of dismissive investigations into suspicious deaths of Black men, saying:
“If you actually knew him, you would know — just like every other Black person in America — he would never choose to be hanged from a tree.”
The woman also referenced the recent death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a 21-year-old college student at Delta State University in Mississippi who was found hanging from a tree on campus last month. Authorities in that case ruled Reed’s death a suicide, but the announcement was met with similar skepticism and grief across social media.
In her post, she called Givann’s death “surreal” and condemned what she described as “a country desperate to erase its history of lynching.”
“Javon Maurice Givann did not unalive himself,” she repeated several times in the video. “If you are silent, you are complicit.”
Ongoing outrage and calls for answers
While official details surrounding Givann’s death remain limited, the video has reignited conversations about racial violence, suicide investigations, and the historical trauma of lynching in America.
Activists and social media users are urging law enforcement in Albuquerque to conduct a transparent, independent investigation, citing distrust of initial police reports.
“First R.I.P to Javon he did not deserve this hate crime❤️ Can we take all these cases to a higher court? It’s so heartbreaking that you are the one experiencing loss but you are the one that has to share the story!,” one person commented.
Civil rights advocates have long argued that deaths of Black men found hanging should never be immediately classified as suicides without clear evidence and thorough review. The emotional weight of America’s history of lynching — and the lingering racial trauma it carries — continues to shape how such deaths are perceived by many in the Black community.
As of now, the Albuquerque Police Department has not issued a detailed public statement regarding the circumstances of Givann’s death.
Meanwhile, the woman behind the viral post says she will continue speaking out until his case receives the attention she believes it deserves:
“Regardless of my past with him, I’m going to say his name — and I’m going to make sure you say it too.”
